Premier Wynne in Burlington to See New Hospital Tower

Published October 10, 2017 at 5:57 pm

New beds and an shiny emergency department were on display as Premier Kathleen Wynne toured the Michael Lee-Chin and Family Patient Tower at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington on Tuesday.

New beds and an shiny emergency department were on display as Premier Kathleen Wynne toured the Michael Lee-Chin and Family Patient Tower at Joseph Brant Hospital in Burlington on Tuesday.

“We’re increasing access to the best health care, making it easier for people to get home from work faster to see their loved ones, and helping to give every child the best possible start in life,” said Wynne.

The 425,000-sq-ft., seven-storey tower aims to provide people in Burlington and surrounding communities with state-of-the-art facilities in a patient and family-focused environment.

The new space adds 172 beds and includes a new ER, two operating rooms, as well as expanded cancer care, an intensive care unit, and recovery and inpatient units.

Roughly 70 per cent of beds in the Michael Lee-Chin and Family Patient Tower are single-patient rooms, compared to 15 per cent before redevelopment — the old hospital didn’t meet requirements for best practices for care.

Beds were often at full capacity — an issue the hospital is still grappling with.

Smart systems technology will make it easier for hospital staff to provide faster triage, shorter ER wait times and care that is more seamless and continuous, according to the province.

“Combined with the support that we have received from the Burlington community we were able to build a new state-of-the-art hospital tower with facilities and services to serve future generations and enhance individual health care in our community and beyond,” said Joseph Brant Hospital president and CEO Eric Vandewall.

Overcrowding in hospitals is resulting in a rise of ‘code zero’ incidents in nearby Hamilton.

That’s when paramedics aren’t able to respond to calls — partially due to offloading holdups, which means they’re waiting around at the hospital.

At any rate, Ontario is investing about $371 million in the redevelopment project, with the remainder of the cost being covered by the hospital and the City of Burlington.

“After years of planning, I am thrilled to see the opening of this new, state-of-the-art patient tower,” said Minister of Health and Long-Term Care Dr. Eric Hoskins.

“Our investment in the redevelopment and renovation of Joseph Brant Hospital will reduce wait times and help us continue to provide high-quality health care close to home for people in Burlington and the surrounding area.”

Joseph Brant Hospital is one of nearly 200 projects province-wide, including the completion of 72.

Workers are breaking ground on 71 more projects.

Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history — more than $190 billion over 13 years. These investments are supporting 125,000 jobs, on average, each year.

“When we build infrastructure, we’re building communities,” said Wynne.

Other major projects completed or nearing completion this construction season include:

  • Building, renovating, expanding and opening 51 new and existing schools, including Boyne River Public School in Alliston, which will accommodate 461 students and provide 39 new licensed child care spaces
  • Modernizing postsecondary education institutions such as the new state-of-the-art Integrated Emergency Services Complex at Northern College in Timmins

Image courtesy of the City of Burlington

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